Internal-combustion engine



J1me 3 w. KNOCHENHAUER. -1;767,932

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE I Filed March 9. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June24, 1930. I w. KNOCHENHAUER 1,767,932

' INTERNAL COMBUS'IfIQN ENGINE Filed March 9, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2[rm/wal ow Patented June 24, 1930 PATENT FFIE .WOLFGANG KNOCHENHAUER, OFWERNIGERQDE, GERMANY INTERNAIli-COMBUSTION Enema Application filed March9, 1929, Serial No.

This invention relates to an internal combustionengine, in which the airfor combustion is sucked into the Workingcylinder on the side of thestufling box and conducted from this cylinder, by a low pressure conduitarrangedat the outer side of the working cylinder, .intoa compressorcylinder, from which it flows highly compressed and highly heatedthrough a valve box and along a fuel nozzle into the working cylinder atthe side opposite the suction side.

In'the improved engine the working cylinder, in which the constantpressure combustion and subsequent expansion of the com pressedcombustion gases takes place, has

not to carry out any compression work. This is carried out in thecompressor under the working cylinder, and the sucking in of fresh air't'akes place on the other side of the working piston, while at the sametime the combusted and expanded gases are expelled by this piston. Inthis manner one power stroke is carried out at-every crank rotation, anda good Volume efliciency is obtained at the same time.

' An internal combustion engine constructed according to the inventionis illustrated by way of example inthe accompanying drawing in which:

section.

Fig. 2 shows in front elevation the crank shaft with connecting rods andpistons.

A short cylinder at is arranged in a crank case .b, accuratelyinthe samemanner as in the commonly used vertical four stroke cycle engines.The'piston a in the cylinder a is coupled to the crank shaft d also'inthe usual manner, the stroke being however special- 40 ly short. Thecover of the cylinder (1 is constructed like a valve box 6 serving atthe same time as cover for an upper cylinder f of similar inner diameterbut having a stroke about three times longer than that of the cylindera. The cylinder 7 is the working cylinder proper, however without acompression space. The working side of the. piston g is on the lowerend. The piston g has-on the top end a piston rod k traversing a coverplate-i whichcloses the upper end of Fig. 1 is .a diagrammaticallongitudinal '0 passes through the uppercdead centre the 345,826; and inGermany March 10, 1928.

and projects symmetrically at both sides 5 over the cylinder walls. Ateach end of the transverse piece is a pin is for a connecting rodlprojects- The connecting rods Z act on both sides of the cylinders onthe crank pins d of the accordingly offset crank shaft. The two crankpins (1 are disposed 180 plus the injection angle with regard to thestud d for the compressor cylinder so that the piston c is still about50 distant from theupper dead centre when the working piston g'isat thelower dead centre. The valve box 6 between the two cylinders a and fcontains hollow spaces for water cooling. The cooling water flowsfurther around the-workingsurfaces of the cylinders.

The engine operates in the following manner:

The air for combustion is sucked in at the side of the stuffing box 7'of the working cylinder f through a suction valve m and then forced fromthe cylinder f through a pipe conduit 92 acting as low pressure conduitinto the space which has in themeantime' been liberated by the piston cof the compressor cylinder (1. At the same time a pre-com-. pressiontakes place according to the smaller volume of this cylinder. The finalcompres-i sion is effected by the compressor piston c which" thenascends. This final pressure is attained as soon as the working pistong, after having sucked in again fresh air,arrives at its lower deadcentre. From this moment- 'the air compressed and highly heated isforced into the working cylinder so that it flows close along the fuel.nozzle 0. Into this jet of hot air the fuel,,previously heated toignition temperature, enters so that it is instaneously completelycombusted. At the moment at which the compressor piston 95 fuelinjection is completed.

The gases from combustion expand then, until the exhaust valve 7" opensin amanner known per se shortly before the upper dead centre andequalization of thepressure takes beginning of two successive periodstakes place during one whole period. Herefrom results that,-by onesingle cylinder of approximately normal size and by one smaller cylinderof only A? the size of the other, the work of two cylinders of'normalsize working in ordinary four stroke cycle is supplied. As furtherprogress the absolute and rapidest admixing of the air for combustionwith the fuel, even at the highest number of revolutionsmnay bementioned.

Further advantages result therefrom that, in opposition to an enginewith double acting cylinder of commonly used construction, thestutfing'box is more easily accessible as it is situated on the upperend and has to pack only against air offless than 3 atoms. The workingcylinder, or the anchors which connect the same to the engine casing,have to take up only about th of the otherwise occurring forces in thedirection of the cylinder axis. The cam shaft 8 can be mounted atthe'side of the valve case 6 without a vertical intermediate shaft,merely with in-' crosshea-d guide is necessary. These rods are furthersubmitted only to tensile stress, as

the work of the pre-compression is etfected already at low number ofrevolutions by the pressure of the masses of the working piston. Theserods can therefore be thin and light.

As-the working piston g is guided by the piston rod, h, it needs not belonger than necessary to accommodate the pistonrings. tur The cylinderis therefore comparatively short, wherefrom results low height of theengine and saving in weight.

In order to reduce the length of the three der.

valve box between said working cylinder and said compressor cylinder,and a fuel nozzle in said valve box along which said highly compressedand highly heated air for'combustion is conducted into said workingcylin- 2. An internal combustion engine, comprising in combination alower short compressor cylinder, an upper longer worln'ng cylinder ofthe same diameter as said compressor cylinder, a piston in, saidcompressor cylinder, a piston in said working cylinder adapted to carryout a several times greater stroke than said compressor piston saidpistons working in opposite directions, a crank shaft below saidcompressor cylinder, one crank for said compressor piston, two outercranks for said working cylinder these cranks displaced 180 plus theinjection anglewith regard to thecrank of said working piston, astufiing box on the cover plate of said work'- ing cylinder, ,a pistonin said working cy1inder, a piston rod of said working piston extendingthrough said cover plate, a horizontal transverse piece on the top endof said piston rod symmetrically extending at both ends over the sidesof said working cylinder, two connecting rods connecting the ends ofsaid transverse piece to the corresponding crank for said workingpiston, a valve for sucking air' for combustion into said workingcylinder arranged at one side ofsaid stufling box, a valve box insertedbetween said compressor cylinder and said working cylinder, a lowpressure conduit on the other side of said 'stufling box ending in saidvalve box adapted to conduct the pre-compressed air'for combustion fromsaid workin cylinder into said compressor cylinder, an a fuel nozzle insaid valve box along which the air for combustion highly compressed andhighly heated in said compressor cylinder passes to flow into saidworking cylinder.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa e. s WOLFGANG KNQOHENHAUER.

times cranked crank shaft, the outer crank arms are constructed asroller bearings p.

The improved engineis adapted to serve" as high speed vehicle motorowing to its operder, a working cylinder above said compressor cyhnder,means for admitting air for combustion into sald working cylinder intothe upper end of the same, a low pressure conduit

